Cost of Quitting Afghanistan Would Be Much Higher Than Staying: NATO Chief

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday that if NATO leaves Afghanistan too soon, the country would return to a state of chaos.

“If NATO leaves too soon, we risk Afghanistan returning to a state of chaos. A safe haven for international terrorism,” Stoltenberg said at the end of a four-day NATO parliamentary assembly in Bucharest, the capital of Romania.

He added that the situation in Afghanistan is challenging.

“We all understand the cost of staying in Afghanistan. The human cost and the financial cost,” he continued,” but the cost of walking away would be much higher.”

The NATO Chief pointed to the attack on World Trade Center and said: “The last time that happened then it led to the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States. In which almost 3000 people were killed.”

Stoltenberg emphasized that the Alliance cannot allow the repeat of 9/11 terrorist attacks; therefore, they will remain committed to Afghanistan.

Currently, there are about 13,000 troops from 39 different NATO and partner countries providing train, advise and assist mission to the Afghan security forces. The U.S. is expected to deploy 3,000 more troops to Afghanistan as a part of Trump’s administration strategy to defeat Taliban and other terrorist groups in South Asia.